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Sunday, 18 October 2015

Right to read - Kathmandu

Many people reading this article perhaps
grew up in a realm of books, and finding a book to read, perhaps, was
never that difficult. But not everyone in Nepal gets this opportunity.
People often argue that everyone in Nepal must have access to education.
But, those making such an argument fail to realise that just having
access to education alone is not enough; what people need is the
opportunity to read books in the format understandable to them.

The
‘right to read’ is, therefore, related to the access of reading
materials, in print or any other readable format.
Reading as a human right
None of the international treaties establish the right to read as a
human right. But there are series of recognised human rights which—based
on interpretation—do incorporate the right to read. It can be traced
from the rights enshrined under International Convention such as the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

For example, Article
26 of the UDHR states that “everyone has the right to education”.
Similarly, other international conventions have also reaffirmed the
importance of the right to education. Generally, the right to education
is understood as an obligation of a state to provide free education up
to secondary level.
However, under rights-based analysis, the right to education gives rise
to other several rights associated to it. So it is often called an
‘empowerment right’, which means that it is a facilitator or medium to
achieve other forms of human rights. Therefore, the right to read is one
facet of the right to education.

There can be no right to education if
there is no access to textbooks or other reading materials.
Likewise, the right to read also seeks support from freedom of speech
and expression. Professor Lea Shaver writes about three dimensions of
the right to read in her work, ‘The Right to Read’ (2015).

First
‘liberty’, where she emphasises the right to read as a freedom to read
and write in one’s preferred language. Second ‘capacity’, where she
asserts that freedom to read and write cannot be exercised unless a
person possesses the practical ability for it. Third, and most
important, ‘availability’, where she argues that the liberty and
capacity to read become meaningless unless a person has access to
reading materials.
End the book famine
In 2013, the ‘Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works
for Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled Persons’ was signed as
an International Treaty to update international copyright laws. It was a
result of intensive lobbying from the World Blind Union and developing
countries, particularly India.

Reading is crucial to gaining knowledge. We
cannot imagine our life without reading. Thus, access to reading
materials in the desired format will not only disseminate knowledge but
will also help in improving our literacy rate

According to the World Blind Union, more
than 90 percent of all published materials cannot be read by blind or
print-disabled people.
The main goal of the Marrakesh Treaty is to end ‘book famine’ for the
benefit of blind, visually impaired and otherwise print disabled persons
(VIPs) by mandatory limitations and exception provisions in domestic
copyright laws. There are two important features of the treaty. First,
the ratifying countries must introduce a limitation and exception
provision in their domestic copyright law. It means that the law must
allow VIPs and their organisations to make accessible format books
without the permission of the author or the copyright holder.

Second,
under certain conditions, the ratifying countries must also allow the
import and export of accessible format copies without permission of the
copyright holder. Similarly, the treaty enhances cross-border
accessibility of format books between authorised entities and also
allows digital unlocking on e-books for accessibility of visually
impaired people. This will create greater access of books in different
formats and help disabled people at large.

Case of Nepal

According to the National Population and Housing Census 2011, about two
percent of the Nepali population suffers from some kind of
disability—0.36 percent is blind/partially sighted, 0.3 percent is
deaf/hard of hearing and 0.04 percent is both deaf and blind. In spite
of these small numbers, the VIPs’ right to access reading materials in
the desired format is important. Last month, Nepal successfully
established a right to read campaign in collaboration with Electronic
Information for Libraries and Nepal Library and Information Consortium.
The main goal of this campaign is to create a public opinion and work
together to pressure the government to ratify and implement the
Marrakesh Treaty into the National Copyright Law.

To its credit, the
government has kept ratification of Marrakesh Treaty in its ‘priority
list’ under a three-year action plan of the Cabinet. Likewise, the
government has given importance to the treaty by including it in its
human rights action plan as well.
These are positive signs. Moreover, there are also talks to amend the
Nepal Copyright Act to address digital copyright issues. We are
confident that such an amendment will also include the spirit of the
Marrakesh Treaty.

Though the treaty only deals with blind, visually
impaired and print disabled, Nepal should be courageous enough and seek
to address the difficulties faced by people with other form of
disabilities too.
Reading is crucial to gaining knowledge. We cannot imagine our life
without reading. Thus, access to reading materials in the desired format
will not only disseminate knowledge but will also help in improving our
literacy rate. As Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the UN
rightly once said, “Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.”. We hope
Nepal’s new government gives utmost priority to the ratification of
Marrakesh Treaty along with the right to read.